Product spotlight: High5 ZERO Hydration Tabs

Our focus here at Wiggle is to make it easy for you to get #goodstuff. High5 Sports Nutrition follows the same principle; they use top quality ingredients to create nutrition that not only tastes good, it also works a charm!

Over the past seven years, you've made it crystal clear that you love the range as much as we do. Here are a few headlines from your reviews of our best-selling High5 Zero Electrolyte Drink Tabs:

"Magic in a bottle" – GrahamH, June 2010

"Refreshing training drink" – EMSyron, June 2012

"I have a constant supply of these at home!" – WOWcustom, June 2015

As a bonus, allow us to add an update for 2016:

"Try the new tropical flavour for a refreshing taste pop!" Wiggle, June 2016

So we love it, you love it, we all love it! But what goes into the making of High5 ZERO tabs? What is it that makes this one product such a massive hit? We had a chat with Matt Hall, Global Sales Manager at HIGH5.

Where it all began

"High5 has a bit of a selfish start, if we're honest. After a few months of overindulgence, we were faced with shifting a few kilos. Having decided to turn to cycling as our exercise of choice, we then wanted a low-carb, low-calorie product, to give the body a boost. There was nothing available; most sports drinks are loaded with sugars and calories; so we just decided to make one ourselves! Given that weight management is something that interests both pros and everyday riders, it just sort of took off from there!

High5 Zero has become so much more than we ever expected it to. It is not just a sports drink; it is an everyday drink, which can be used in so many ways, and we are really proud of that.

Selecting the ingredients

"We're a picky bunch, so we set out pretty tough criteria when starting to formulate zero: it had to taste great, only include high-quality ingredients and natural flavourings; plus it had to come in at a great price. Oh, and it was also important of course to get the science right!

We wanted High5 ZERO tabs to be more than a general hydration product – we wanted it to be of specific use for athletes. Now, athletes give their bodies a tough time, so we decided that High5 ZERO should also be loaded with essential nutrients. Most importantly, magnesium and electrolytes; to help to ward off every athletes worst enemy - cramp! It also gives you 35% of your RDA of vitamin C per tablet."

Real world testing

"Trying High5 ZERO tabs in a test environment is all good and well; but it needed to work in the real world too. Thankfully, we nailed it; we've had customers tell us that it's not only helped them to achieve their sporting goals, it's also helped them to recover from a heavy night out!"

"Personally, I have found High5 ZERO to be a saviour during and after spin classes and for HIIT training as well. I always struggled to drink enough water before but adding a tab to my bottle means that this is no longer an issue. It is also one of the first things that I pack into my suitcase when I'm off to somewhere sunny; as it's brilliant at keeping my hydration levels topped up in hot climates."

High5 ZERO is also gluten free and Vegetarian Society approved; so pretty much everyone can use it.

Trying new flavours

"We currently have a wide selection of Zero flavours. The more recent additions of Tropical and Mojito taste great, and are a bit different to our others."

"We are always looking out for new flavour ideas, and take on-board what our customers tell us. We also get lots of feedback from the elite athletes and teams we support."

What's next?

"Good question! It's really up to our customers. We have development ideas of course; but at the end of the day, we develop products according to what our customers want and need.

"If you have any requests for flavours or anything you would like to see in the product let us know. We always welcome feedback, both positive and negative – your reviews are a massive help to let us know where we’re getting it right, and where we can make improvements."

High5 are keen to make sure that High5 ZERO tabs remain one of the 'must haves' in so many people's kit bags.